Another quilt down

Little Levi is already here. He is way bigger than a new born now, but I finally got his quilt done.

I  am still practising the free motion quilting.

The back. I like piecing the back. There is an extra block in the middle.

The triangle shot.

I like blue and brown together.

Random morning

A picture taken one morning on the way to the bus stop. I took it to text it to Craig. Boaz was not too happy I took the picture, but I was pretty sure that Craig was happy to see him.

Since the picture, it has gotten warmer and we now have left the winter coat behind.

The miracle of music

Saturday Josh went to BYUI for a Jazz Festival. He is one of three freshmen in the Jazz Band. He  loves jazz. He shares that with his dad. I like it, but I don't feel it quite like they do.

Boaz and I ran up to Rexburg to see them perform for the judges. It was Boaz's first time on campus. He was amazed at the size of a college campus. I told him that BYU-Provo was bigger. I don't think he could wrap his head around that. 

We got there just before our band played. They had a good, clear sound. Then Boaz and I followed them into the critique room. One of the judges came and directed them in their first song. Boaz enjoyed the expeirence and was surprized that he would keep cutting them off to work on stuff.

Josh thought the guy was awesome.

I recorded the first two songs and then ran out of space to record the third song. I'm sad because that was my favorite. I posted the two songs to Facebook.

Here is a picture of my handsome boy.

I think he looks great in his tux.

A picture of him on stage.

And 

The music stand blocked him a bit.

I am so grateful for music that takes me and my kids to the campus of BYUI and that the boys can expereince the feeling and get excited for future opportunities.

Boaz can't wait for next year when he can start to learn how to play the trumpet.

Music opens so many doors.

Once again

We went round three at the podiatrists today.

This picture was taken Wednesday night. We have been fighting it for about two weeks. We've been tring to take care of it without going to the doctor. He is running track and we didn't want to have him injured before we even started.

Craig told me to get him into the doctor so I called and the earliest we could get in was this afternoon.

Yesterday we took this picture.

I was freaking out at the yellow infection pocket. In real life it looked more green. My mind started going to the gangrenous area. Totally freaked me out. It started draining late last night. We soaked it in Epson salts, put a band-aid on it and sent him to bed.

This  morning, we soaked it again and I sent him off to school.

This is what it looks like now.

The doctor said he should be able to run again on Monday. That is crazy to me. We have him on a round of antibiotics, soak it twice a day, a little band-aid and neospsoren and he is good to go.

We may have gotten too comfortable.

We had two months of family togetherness. Craig was home and we spent time making memories.

For the past two weeks he has been traveling agian. He started off in Cortez, CO checking out the situation in the hospital there. Before he left, we looked for info about that area. It  is close to the Four Corners area. There are ancient ruins to explore. It is up in the mountains. We were excited about the area.

Just before he left, he got a call from a head hunter. There was a job in Boise, ID. He dashed down to SLC for a quick interview and then headed to Cortez. Two days after he got to Cortez, he got a call to head to Dallas, TX to meet the bigwigs of the company for the Boise job. He took two days away and flew to  do a bit of meet and greet.

I think Cortez is a bit put off, but we are excited about Boise. So tomorrow, Craig is headed to Boise to meet the docs. We are hoping for good first impressions.

Our life is getting ready for the next chapter.

Wahoo!

This has been over a year in the making. 

Love getting stalled projects done - but not enough to stay on track.

Just need to get it in the mail. That and the label.

Practicing

I don't like the last part of quilting, or the actual quilting  itself. I have been stitching in the ditch for years. But I have discovered that I can go outside the lines and actually get done faster. I struggle with keeping the stitches the same length and knowing what design to quilt.

Yesterday I began quilting the elk's quilt. I tried out several designs before I decided on one. So it is not really cohesive.

I  can see blips out of the pattern, but the stitch length looks pretty good.

Sometimes the pattern is clearer from the back. The little curliques were the last pattern that I settled on. The elk head is also visible in this picture. Hopefully today I will complete the quilting and get ready to start on two baby quilts.

Finishing a major project is so freeing.

I love this flower

The first I had ever heard about the amarylils was in the MTC. One of our teachers brought in a bulb and we watched it grow and bloom in the time we were there learning Spanish. I have loved them ever since.

Last year, my sweet mother-in-law gave me a bulb. I have been watering it all year, hoping it would bloom again this year.

It has been fun listening to my boys watch the miracle of the amarylis. They have been watching with awe as it seems to grow right as they watch.

I took a picture early this morning.

Now with the clear, late morning light it is shining.

The varigated color is so pretty to me.

I'm trying to have a bit of a green thumb with house plants. My mom has given me an Irish shamrock and an aloe vera plant.

They seem to be happy sitting on my counter.

I've also managed to keep a plant alive since Ron passed.

It's thinning out a bit, but still seems happy in its little corner.

Living plants in my house - it's a happy thing.